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rising to the responsibility of stewardship

I loved it! A few weeks back at the 10:30 am Sung Eucharist, we made a change, a musical addition. As we wrapped up the Offertory and the collection plates were brought forward, the whole household of God stood and sang together in grand style, "Praise God from whom all blessings flow!" What a wonderful thing to express, and to express so beautifully, to the God who gives us absolutely everything.

And the sentiment is the same at our 8:00 am liturgy. Here, the congregation stands and says, "All things come of thee, O Lord / And of thine own have we given thee." Again, the idea is that when we offer the gifts of bread and wine, along with the collection of tithes and offerings, we humbly acknowledge that there is nothing we can give back, not a single thing, that our gracious and loving God has not given us in the first place.

All things come from him! Do you believe that? Your brains and abilities, your families and friends, your jobs and financial resources-do you believe that all these things are gifts received by his grace? I do. I believe that all blessings "flow" from God, and they're all going back to God. In the meantime he entrusts his blessings to us, and this is what it means to be a steward. In the Bible, a "steward" is literally a caretaker, a person who is entrusted with the responsibility of managing the master's house and possessions.

And speaking of houses, I write this at a time when I am particularly aware of God's blessings to me. Just this week Meg and I have successfully navigated our way through the inspection phases of the house we are selling and the house we are buying. The whole Houk family is extremely excited about the move to be near St. John's, and we see in all these circumstances the gracious provision of our God.

While we were house-hunting, Meg used to make fun of me because with each house we entered the first thing I would comment on is whether or not it would be a good setting to have the Vestry over for dinner. (I think her first thought was whether there was room to escape from the kids on occasion!) But indeed, I (and Meg as well) want to have the Vestry over, and we want parishioners to come visit, and we want our kids' friends over to play. And in a sense we want all these things because we understand that even when this house is "ours," it's really not ours at all. It's God's. It's just another blessing that he has put on loan to us, allowing us to be stewards of his stuff, and in turn to use his gifts for the purpose of building up his house, the Church.

October is the time each year that we focus on stewardship at St. John's. We remind ourselves throughout the month that we are stewards, caretakers, managers of the time, talent, and treasure God gives us in this life.

In the weeks ahead, all who call St. John's "home" will receive a number of items in the mail: a handbook providing the big picture about stewardship, some declaration forms, and a note of encouragement from a fellow member of the parish. All Saints Sunday, November 2, is our In-Gathering, the day on which, as we assemble for Eucharist, we will offer together our "Time and Talent" and financial commitments for the year ahead.

Please join me in prayer that God would lead and guide each household in these stewardship decisions in 2009. May each of us, each of you, be motivated by a sense of responsibility, thankfulness, and awareness for the manifold grace we have received from our gracious God.

Faithfully,